All of a sudden I had the inexplicable desperate need to reread this duology. I haven't read these books since....probably since I was a teenager I think so it's been a while. But they are pretty much exactly what I remember them being and I enjoyed the experience of rereading them exactly as much as I expected.
Which is not to say that they're perfect books, because they're not, they're just very much the kind of thing they are.
The setting: a version of Regency England where magic is a thing. The plot: mostly capers with a low-key romance.
The main character, Kim, is a petty criminal who at the beginning of the first book has been hired to snoop into the belongings of a passing stage magician. The stage magician, Mairelon, turns out to be also a real magician in disguise who is on a somewhat foolish quest to find a set of magical objects that people mistakenly believe he stole. Hijinks ensue.
In the second book, Kim is introduced to Society and begins the process of learning to be a magician, while also helping Mairelon with uncovering a magical plot. Hijinks that are slightly easier to follow (and also slightly more serious) than the first book's hijinks ensue.
The first book is hampered by the sheer quantity of involved characters and trying to keep track of who's who, who's wanting to do what, who's related to whom, and who knows what about what other people are doing. But if you just decide that keeping close track of the plot doesn't really matter, then it's a fun time to just read through and enjoy the doings of Kim and Mairelon, and the general shape of the silly plot.
The second book, the plot is easier to follow and also the Problem That Needs Fixing seems to have actual stakes rather than just being for the sake of Mairelon's pride, so it is an improvement on the first one, much as I do enjoy the low-stress fun of the first one too.
As well as of course enjoying the two main characters, I really like the various secondary female characters in these books. I love Renee and want to see more of her friendship with Kim and Mairelon! And Mairelon's mother is of course great. But even Mairelon's Aunt Agatha who is a regular thorn in Kim's side has her moments of not actually being an antagonist. (Also Kim's extremely practical abigail who doesn't blink at anything Kim does is great too.)
( cut for minor thematic spoiler )
Which is not to say that they're perfect books, because they're not, they're just very much the kind of thing they are.
The setting: a version of Regency England where magic is a thing. The plot: mostly capers with a low-key romance.
The main character, Kim, is a petty criminal who at the beginning of the first book has been hired to snoop into the belongings of a passing stage magician. The stage magician, Mairelon, turns out to be also a real magician in disguise who is on a somewhat foolish quest to find a set of magical objects that people mistakenly believe he stole. Hijinks ensue.
In the second book, Kim is introduced to Society and begins the process of learning to be a magician, while also helping Mairelon with uncovering a magical plot. Hijinks that are slightly easier to follow (and also slightly more serious) than the first book's hijinks ensue.
The first book is hampered by the sheer quantity of involved characters and trying to keep track of who's who, who's wanting to do what, who's related to whom, and who knows what about what other people are doing. But if you just decide that keeping close track of the plot doesn't really matter, then it's a fun time to just read through and enjoy the doings of Kim and Mairelon, and the general shape of the silly plot.
The second book, the plot is easier to follow and also the Problem That Needs Fixing seems to have actual stakes rather than just being for the sake of Mairelon's pride, so it is an improvement on the first one, much as I do enjoy the low-stress fun of the first one too.
As well as of course enjoying the two main characters, I really like the various secondary female characters in these books. I love Renee and want to see more of her friendship with Kim and Mairelon! And Mairelon's mother is of course great. But even Mairelon's Aunt Agatha who is a regular thorn in Kim's side has her moments of not actually being an antagonist. (Also Kim's extremely practical abigail who doesn't blink at anything Kim does is great too.)
( cut for minor thematic spoiler )